Noel Hunt wary of 'really aggressive' Cobblers as crisis-hit Reading enter 'advanced talks' with potential buyer
Reading manager Noel Hunt has labelled Cobblers a ‘really aggressive team’ as the play-off chasing, crisis-hit Royals look to continue to defy off-field problems at Sixfields this weekend.
Despite being embroiled in seemingly never-ending issues away from the pitch, and having lost manager Ruben Selles to Hull earlier in the season, Reading returned to the top six in League One by winning 3-1 at bottom club Shrewsbury in midweek.
"I am expecting another difficult game at the weekend,” said Hunt. “Watching Northampton already, they are a really aggressive team, they have an aggressive press and want to play the game in your half. It is going to be to be a really tough game for us so we have to go make sure we prepare correctly and in the right way.
“They are playing with this freedom, Kev (Kevin Nolan) has given them this freedom to go and play they look like a good threatening side, they beat Peterborough last week 4-0. It is going to be one of those days where we need to make sure we do our jobs on and off of the ball in order to get a result."
Meanwhile, off the pitch, Reading announced this week that they are in ‘advanced talks’ with an alternative buyer just under a fortnight before an EFL-imposed deadline for the club to find a new owner.
The Royals entered an exclusivity timeframe with a potential purchaser back in February as they sought to bring an end to a long-running takeover saga, but that period has now expired. Owner Dai Yongge has 13 days to sell up or risk the club being suspended by the English Football League.
Last month, the EFL announced Yongge had been officially disqualified under the EFL's Owners' and Directors' Test. They originally told the Chinese businessman he needed to sell the club by April 5th but they extended that deadline last week until April 22nd.